Visual Identity • Brand Strategy • Spatial Design
City & State
City & State is a coffee and retail concept that celebrates craft, design, and community. As both co-founder and creative director, I developed the brand identity and visual strategy from the ground up — uniting two experiences under one bold idea: a shop where great coffee and great design meet. The result is a brand that feels contemporary, confident, and authentic.
I set out to build a brand that would challenge expectations of what a coffee shop could be. City & State needed to feel like a lifestyle brand — one that blended the energy of a café with the curation of a design store. My goal was to create a system that felt cohesive across packaging, signage, merchandise, and digital channels, while remaining deeply rooted in Memphis’ creative culture.
Defining A New Retail Identity For A Dual-Purpose Concept.
Strategy & Approach
I created a flexible identity system that could adapt to multiple touchpoints without losing its impact. The deep electric blue became the anchor color — powerful on coffee cups, apparel, and retail displays. The typography and graphic language echoed the brand’s balance of modern craft and community: structured yet expressive, simple yet full of movement.
A modular visual language made for scale
I extended the brand into every aspect of the experience — from packaging and signage to apparel and retail displays. Each design decision reinforced the same visual rhythm: energetic, approachable, and modern. The coffee cups became mobile brand statements, the merchandise carried the same visual DNA.
A brand that shaped a neighborhood’s creative identity.
City & State quickly became recognized as a leading voice in Memphis’ creative retail scene — known for both its design-forward aesthetic and its commitment to community. The brand helped define the visual landscape of Broad Avenue’s revitalization and set a precedent for design-driven retail experiences in the city. It remains one of my most personal and formative projects — a tangible example of how storytelling, design, and strategy can shape culture and commerce alike.
